Saturday, July 12, 2008

Copious amounts of snow

^ The snow from yesterday.

We left bright and early. And being so bright and early, it meant that the council/parks people hadn't cleared the roads at all and we couldn't get anywhere near the summit. And even when the snow ploughs FINALLY arrived, they spent two hours faffing about no-where near the summit. Because it's oh-so-important to clear every inch of a car park and then stand around for ages talking. Thus, it wasn't worth waiting around for them to do anything.

When we first arrived, we walked about a kilometre up to the first carpark because it was too dangerous to drive in the snow. The snow was thickly coated on everything and just gorgeous. It was silent and perfect. We were up at the carpark for a while before the snow ploughs arrived. When they did, we walked back to the car and drove up, hoping they'd clear to the summit.

But they didn't. So the answer was to walk up there. We got about half-way before time ran out (appointments, places to be, etc). But it was just so incredibly beautiful. But somehow disappointing. It's just nice to be able to go to the summit where it's clear, there are slopes and you can generally romp around.

The best thing was it snowing when we were there. The flakes were large, but delicate, soft, delicious. The second-best part is the wonderful silence mixed with the feeling of isolation when you're the only ones walking through fresh snow that's untouched by human feet. It's like being an explorer (for people who work in offices all day).